On January 24, 2023, Douglas J. Bray, age 43, was found guilty of 1 count of Child Molesting, a level 4 felony, following a two-day jury trial in Boone Superior Court I. The charges stem from sexual acts by Bray perpetrated upon a juvenile victim between December
2019 and March of 2020.
The Prosecution Team was led by Special Victim’s Prosecutor Heidi Jennings, co-counsel Deputy Prosecutor Brent Wilson, Paralegal Tracey Christner, Victim Advocate Carla Leathers, Boone County Sheriff’s Captain Jason Reynolds and Whitestown Metro Police
Department Captain Chris Burchum (formerly of Boone County Sheriff’s Dept).
After the verdict, Special Victim’s Prosecutor Heidi Jennings stated: “As with most cases of this nature, Bray violated the trust of a young person that he happened to know. I want to commend and express my sincere gratitude to the young person who showed tremendous strength and courage in sharing what happened – there aren’t many adults who could have done what this young person did.”
Prosecutor Eastwood when asked to comment on the verdict stated: “We are overjoyed that the Jury returned this verdict for the victim and the victim’s family. The Prosecution Team, led by Heidi Jennings, did a tremendous job with this case. But we are not finished yet as we will be advocating for a maximum penalty at the sentencing hearing. We also want to thank our partners at Sylvia’s Child Advocacy Center for their assistance in investigation. Eastwood had the following advice for families and care givers of young people: “We have prosecuted too many cases like this in recent years. I implore all parents and caregivers of our youth to promote a climate of open communication where a child will not be afraid to share about things in their life that they might be afraid of or embarrassed about. Too often we see that the perpetrator is a person of trust – it is important that children understand that NO ONE should try to break boundary rules and if it happens children should continually share that information
until someone listens.
The sentencing hearing for Bray is set for February 21, 2023, at 10:00 AM in Boone Superior Court I.
